This is the latest list of my favorite books in Spanish. I had to include 11 so I could mention both pictogram authors Graciela Montes and Violeta Monreal.
1. Graciela Montes
Había una vez una llave. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0158-9. (Board Book) Grandma Antolina finds a key and begins a long journey into the country, up and down a mountain, and so on, until she fords the door it opens, where her grandchildren await. [Follett Set Number for the Graciela Montes titles L829]
Había una vez una casa. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0156-2. (Board Book) ISBN: 978-1-59820-212-0 (hardback). A group of animals and one egg share a big house with a giant who lives in the garden.
Había una vez un barco. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0157-0. (Board Book) [Santillana looking into this. Not part of hard cover set.]
Había una vez una nube. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0159-7. (Board Book). A cloud arrives on Earth as drops of water in the middle of a storm and soon returns to the sky on a bright sunny day.
Habia una vez una princesa. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0160-0. (Board Book)
The titles listed above are rebus stories authored by Graciela Montes (Argentina) and illustrated by different artists. They are simple stories that can be used by all levels of fluency, but will attract the younger students most of all. The student reading the story has to recall the word in the picture each time it comes up, so the stories are great for vocabulary building. [I was able to find the rebus stories as board books in Chile and as paperbacks in the US.] Graciela Montes is very prolific, so she lends herself easily for an author study. Other popular books by her are:
Cuatro calles y un problema. 5a. ed. Madrid [Spain] : Ediciones SM, 1997. Panchita is in a hurry to get to the dentist, but with only four blocks to go, her imagination gets the better of her and she becomes afraid. [Follett #21009J3]
Más chiquito que una arveja, más grande que una ballena. 10a. ed. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 2000, c1989. A short adventure story about one very large cat and one very small cat. [Follett #14817R4]
Tengo un monstruo en el bolsillo. Orlando : Harcourt Brace, [2000?]. A little girl looks for help in getting a monster out of her pocket. 11596R8
Valentín se parece a-- 6a. ed. Madrid [Spain] : Ediciones SM, 1998. Tired of always being told how much he looks like everyone else, Valentín hangs his self-portrait around town so people will say he looks like that boy. [Follett #27280J7 Currently Opc]
Violeta Monreal (Spain) is another author which has published rebus stories. Unlike Graciela Montes, Monreal includes a heading on top of each page with the pictures and words by them. Some titles are:
Susto en la playa. León, España: Everest, [2003]. ISBN: 84-241-8103-2. While on vacation a seven-year-old boy and his younger sister have fun on the beach. ¡Mío! ¡Mío! el huevo es mío. 2a. ed. Leon, España: Everest, [2004]. ISBN: 84-241-8102-4. A dragon, a wolf, a king, and a witch, unhappy living in the same forest, learn the value of working together when a huge, unidentified egg appears in the neighborhood.
¿Qué animal es? León: Everest, c2003. ISBN: 84-241-8100-X. Contains a series of illustrated, rhyming riddles that readers must solve to learn about various animals.
SOS se necesita sonrisa. León España: Everest, [2003]. ISBN: 84-241-8101-8. A magician who lives on a small planet is responsible for granting people their desires; but even though his job should be a happy one, the magician is very sad.
This book is part of the series Colección mi historia, which includes simple stories about the lives of Diego de Almagro, Gabriela Mistral, Christopher Columbus, and Chilean artist/poet/singer Violeta Parra. The book lends itself to be used with different audiences: it is told mostly in the present tense and has short passages on opposing pages. After reading this book, the students can listen to Gracias a la vida and other beautiful songs by this artist.
5. Carlos Silveyra
Silveyra, Carlos. Trabalenguas: sin equivocarse y bien ligerito. (From the series Falto el profe) Buenos Aires, Argentina: Altea, 2008. ISBN: 950-511-509-1. This little book, in its sixth edition, is very popular with Spanish speaking students. A good idea when presenting tongue twisters is to copy a few on slips of paper and challenge students to practice, then read to a partner. The activity culminates with a few selected students reading in front of all. This is a great activity to have fun while learning Spanish pronunciation.
6. Ivar Da Coll
Pies para la princesa
7. Poli Délano
Policarpo y el tío Pablo: Historias de una tierna amistad con Pablo Neruda by Poli Délano
8. Pablo Neruda
Libro de las preguntas
9. Chema Heras
Abuelos From the Kalandraka website - must clean & paraphrase! Chema Heras- Escritor
40 Pag. 22 x 22cm.
ISBN: 978-84-8464-513-9
Precio: 12 € PREMIO LLIBRETER – 2003
Idiomas disponibles: Castelán, Galego
Todos nos hacemos viejos, es ley de vida. Pero la belleza no muere con los años, simplemente se transforma. Una historia romántica repleta de metáforas encadenadas.
10. Gusti
La mosca
11. Marcelo Birmajer
Birmajer, Marcelo. Cicatrices. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Calibroscopio, 2008. ISBN: 978-987-22204-9-5.
A poignant, yet beautifully told story about a lad in love with a capricious girl who won't accept him until all his scars are removed. The young man finds a magician who begins to remove the scars, but as the scars are removed, the experiences attached to them disappear. The picture book has a combination of long and short passages and illustrations done in collage. An excellent book for a discussion on what makes us who we are. Marcelo Birmajer is from Argentina.
1. Graciela Montes
Había una vez una llave. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0158-9. (Board Book) Grandma Antolina finds a key and begins a long journey into the country, up and down a mountain, and so on, until she fords the door it opens, where her grandchildren await. [Follett Set Number for the Graciela Montes titles L829]
Había una vez una casa. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0156-2. (Board Book) ISBN: 978-1-59820-212-0 (hardback). A group of animals and one egg share a big house with a giant who lives in the garden.
Había una vez un barco. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0157-0. (Board Book) [Santillana looking into this. Not part of hard cover set.]
Había una vez una nube. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0159-7. (Board Book). A cloud arrives on Earth as drops of water in the middle of a storm and soon returns to the sky on a bright sunny day.
Habia una vez una princesa. Miami, FL: Santillana, 2006. ISBN: 987-04-0160-0. (Board Book)
The titles listed above are rebus stories authored by Graciela Montes (Argentina) and illustrated by different artists. They are simple stories that can be used by all levels of fluency, but will attract the younger students most of all. The student reading the story has to recall the word in the picture each time it comes up, so the stories are great for vocabulary building. [I was able to find the rebus stories as board books in Chile and as paperbacks in the US.] Graciela Montes is very prolific, so she lends herself easily for an author study. Other popular books by her are:
Cuatro calles y un problema. 5a. ed. Madrid [Spain] : Ediciones SM, 1997. Panchita is in a hurry to get to the dentist, but with only four blocks to go, her imagination gets the better of her and she becomes afraid. [Follett #21009J3]
Más chiquito que una arveja, más grande que una ballena. 10a. ed. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 2000, c1989. A short adventure story about one very large cat and one very small cat. [Follett #14817R4]
Tengo un monstruo en el bolsillo. Orlando : Harcourt Brace, [2000?]. A little girl looks for help in getting a monster out of her pocket. 11596R8
Valentín se parece a-- 6a. ed. Madrid [Spain] : Ediciones SM, 1998. Tired of always being told how much he looks like everyone else, Valentín hangs his self-portrait around town so people will say he looks like that boy. [Follett #27280J7 Currently Opc]
Biographical information about Graciela Montes can be found at: http://www.7calderosmagicos.com.ar/Autores/gracielamontes.htm
2. Violeta Monreal
Violeta Monreal (Spain) is another author which has published rebus stories. Unlike Graciela Montes, Monreal includes a heading on top of each page with the pictures and words by them. Some titles are:
Susto en la playa. León, España: Everest, [2003]. ISBN: 84-241-8103-2. While on vacation a seven-year-old boy and his younger sister have fun on the beach.
¡Mío! ¡Mío! el huevo es mío. 2a. ed. Leon, España: Everest, [2004]. ISBN: 84-241-8102-4. A dragon, a wolf, a king, and a witch, unhappy living in the same forest, learn the value of working together when a huge, unidentified egg appears in the neighborhood.
¿Qué animal es? León: Everest, c2003. ISBN: 84-241-8100-X. Contains a series of illustrated, rhyming riddles that readers must solve to learn about various animals.
SOS se necesita sonrisa. León España: Everest, [2003]. ISBN: 84-241-8101-8. A magician who lives on a small planet is responsible for granting people their desires; but even though his job should be a happy one, the magician is very sad.
An interview in Spanish with Violeta Monreal can be found at: http://www.literaturas.com/02infantiljuvenilVioletaMonreal2002.htm and more information at:
http://infantiltremanes.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/violeta-monreal-el-arte-de-ilustrar-libros-para-ninos/
3. Victor Carvajal
Un monstruo Asi ... de grande by Victor Carvajal
4. Francisco Jiménez
Jimenez, Francisco. La niña Violeta. Santiago, Chile: Editorial Manuta, 2007. ISBN: 978-956-8209-35-3.
This book is part of the series Colección mi historia, which includes simple stories about the lives of Diego de Almagro, Gabriela Mistral, Christopher Columbus, and Chilean artist/poet/singer Violeta Parra. The book lends itself to be used with different audiences: it is told mostly in the present tense and has short passages on opposing pages. After reading this book, the students can listen to Gracias a la vida and other beautiful songs by this artist.
5. Carlos Silveyra
Silveyra, Carlos. Trabalenguas: sin equivocarse y bien ligerito. (From the series Falto el profe) Buenos Aires, Argentina: Altea, 2008. ISBN: 950-511-509-1. This little book, in its sixth edition, is very popular with Spanish speaking students. A good idea when presenting tongue twisters is to copy a few on slips of paper and challenge students to practice, then read to a partner. The activity culminates with a few selected students reading in front of all. This is a great activity to have fun while learning Spanish pronunciation.
6. Ivar Da Coll
Pies para la princesa
7. Poli Délano
Policarpo y el tío Pablo: Historias de una tierna amistad con Pablo Neruda by Poli Délano
8. Pablo Neruda
Libro de las preguntas
9. Chema Heras
Abuelos From the Kalandraka website - must clean & paraphrase!
Chema Heras - Escritor
40 Pag. 22 x 22cm.
ISBN: 978-84-8464-513-9
Precio: 12 €
PREMIO LLIBRETER – 2003
Idiomas disponibles: Castelán, Galego
Todos nos hacemos viejos, es ley de vida. Pero la belleza no muere con los años, simplemente se transforma. Una historia romántica repleta de metáforas encadenadas.
10. Gusti
La mosca
11. Marcelo Birmajer
Birmajer, Marcelo. Cicatrices. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Calibroscopio, 2008. ISBN: 978-987-22204-9-5.
A poignant, yet beautifully told story about a lad in love with a capricious girl who won't accept him until all his scars are removed. The young man finds a magician who begins to remove the scars, but as the scars are removed, the experiences attached to them disappear. The picture book has a combination of long and short passages and illustrations done in collage. An excellent book for a discussion on what makes us who we are. Marcelo Birmajer is from Argentina.